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A Word In Your Ear: How & Why To Read James Joyce's Finnegans Wake

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It's good to find a new book on "Finnegans Wake," the first I've seen in this century. Most of the books written about Joyce's last "novel" were written a generation or more ago. This compact text is comprehensive and adds thoughts and ideas I've not found in some of the older, more voluminous works. It's also readable, not requiring an advanced degree in literary criticism. There's no way to make "Finnegans Wake" an easy read, but "A Word in Your Ear" offers practical advice that advances our understanding of Joyce's "book of the dark."

I am not a literary critic. I am an avid reader and love the stimulation of thought-provoking writing.

Yes, the Wake is certainly no typical novel. But I think some of the terms applied such as "the most impenetrable book ever written" are a bit melodramatic. The Bible has passages that are difficult to understand, right? So is it impenetrable? Quantum mechanics is nearly impossible to grasp. Impenetrable? No.

Impenetrable implies that the reader will get nothing from the book. I actually enjoy and gain regeneration from reading the wake. No, I can't decipher every line. But I can follow the general idea and love the word play. Play. See that's the real key here. Play. If the book is approached as play, as fun, the reader will enjoy the book.

And that brings me to A Word in Your Ear. The author states upfront that his book is not a deep scholarly dissertation on the Wake. It's a starter, an encouragement to dive in. As that, the book serves the purpose. If you want to just get started with the Wake, this book is adequate to "get you in". Go deeper if you'd like with other dissections. But for a toe in the water, this book will serve the purpose.

Chris Reich
TeachU.com

I bought several books when I decided to read Finnegan's Wake. This has proven to be the least helpful. I would recommend Joyce's Kaleidoscope: An Invitation to Finnegans Wake, Joyce's Book of the Dark: Finnegans Wake (Mark H Ingraham Prize), A Skeleton Key to Finnegans Wake: Unlocking James Joyce's Masterwork, How Joyce Wrote Finnegans Wake: A Chapter-by-Chapter Genetic Guide (Irish Studies in Literature and Culture), and Annotations to Finnegans Wake -- in that order before A Word in your ear.
Kitcher's invitation has especially reawakened my interest in the dark book. I find myself in that late stage of life when I wonder, with HCE, ALP and Joyce if it's all been worth it.